The Enugu State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of a young man who allegedly killed his mother, Mrs Charity Orji, and his sister, Miss Ukamaka Orji, and buried them in a shallow grave in their backyard in the state.
The suspect, identified as Somadina Orji from Igboariam in Anambra State, was said to have committed the offence on Monday, December 4, 2023, at Umuagu Inyi, in the Oji River Local Government Area of Enugu State.
According to various reports and videos of the incident, the late Charity, a native of Inyi but married in Igboariam, Anambra State, had been living in her family house with her children for some years.
Unfortunately, her son, who allegedly deals in hard drugs and has been having issues with her for some time killed her.
A community leader in Inyi, Mr Ben Obi, who spoke to some journalists, stated that the problems started weeks ago when the suspect had an issue with the younger brother.
He added that the suspect had wanted to hit him (the younger brother) before the mother stopped him and reported the incident to the kingsmen asking them to come and chase him away from the house because he wanted to kill the younger brother.
Meanwhile, the younger sister had been missing for two weeks before he had the problem with the mother.
However, the community leader further explained that the mother went for a condolence visit at Akpugoeze, and upon her return in the afternoon, the son, Somadina, killed and buried her in a shallow grave in their backyard.
He said that when the younger brother came back and was looking for the mother, he suspected something was wrong and raised an alarm.
“When the villagers gathered at the compound upon interrogation, Somadina confessed that he had killed the mother.”
He also confessed that he killed the younger sister some weeks ago. Barrister Ben also said that when the Police were invited, the remains of the mother and the sister were exhumed and deposited at the mortuary, and the suspect was arrested.
Ben also explained that Charity, until her death sold fufu to feed her family.
He called on the government to come to their rescue to avoid issues like this in the future.
Also condemning the act, the coordinating president general in Oji River, Mr. Ejike Tasie, said the use of hard drugs in the Inyi Community is alarming, calling on the anti-drug agency in Oji River to help them check the use of these drugs in their various communities in the local government.
Confirming the incident on Sunday, the Command’s spokesperson, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, said the suspect had been arrested and an investigation was still ongoing.
Ndukwe said that immediately after the investigation is concluded, he would be arraigned in court.
“The suspect has been arrested, and the case is under investigation. The suspect would be prosecuted once investigations are concluded.”
